Chapter 193

193 Chapter One Hundred Ninety Three

The air in this part of the world was humid and the heat was intense, although just enough to remind you to walk with an umbrella or a cap at least. A black SUV cruised across the highway at dizzying speeds. The highway was void of any cars allowing them to drive at speeds one would otherwise advise against. The inhabitants of the car were headed somewhere urgently and they didn’t mind the speed the driver used.

A couple in the back seats spoke in hushed tones, “Do you think they are all there this time?” the man asked.

“Well, that would be one rare oddity. We’ll be lucky to find Thorrin there at all,” the woman replied.

“Oh, he’s far too busy to come to a family meeting. Who can blame him anyway?” the man replied as though it was obvious that the mentioned person was fond of missing such rare occasions. The woman at his side stretched for what felt like the hundredth time since the start of the car ride and lay on his lap. “You remind me of a cat,” he chuckled.

“Oh, shut up. I sometimes wonder what you’re made of. That was one hell of a flight. Why did Brigadia have to be on the other side of the world?” the woman groaned, making herself more comfortable best she could. The car was spacious and they were the only inhabitants, a luxury they hadn’t enjoyed in eighteen years.

A window separating them from the driver slid down to allow them to view the other side of the car, “We are reaching the Chase mansion, my lord,” the driver spoke.

“Thank you, Marx. Stop the car at the main gates. We’d like to take the scenic route to the house,” Tom ordered before the window closed once more. It didn’t take long before the car came to a stop. They got out of the car and watched Marx drive away.

“It’s been long, hasn’t it?” Marie spoke up. Tom looked into the gardens that barred their direct path to the luxurious mansion that lay a safe distance of five hundred metres away from them.

He sighed, his senses picking up on everyone that was inside. He doubted part of the information that came into his mind but didn’t mention a thing to his wife, “Yes, it has been a long time since we were here. I wonder what has changed.”

.....

The couple took their time while they walked through the gardens, taking the time to look at everything that didn’t look the same. “Remember the time you fought Alice when she was still a novice one time.”

“Oh, that... We were just having fun as girls,” Marie replied when they came across a metallic bench with a dented armrest. The woman ran her hand across the dented metal armrest. I remember panicking after she hit her head on this. I thought I’d killed a hunter. It was the hunters’ gravest crime, and I seemed to have stumbled upon it,” Marie thought back.

“I was surprisingly calm that time. The girl was too stubborn to go out that way. She must be in her thirties right about now,” Tom replied with a smile on his face. However, his wife didn’t smile back.

“That’s all we can do, isn’t it? Guess at her age without even knowing where she is or if she’s even alive,” Marie spoke sadly.

“We will meet her again, you know. She might look older than us when that time comes, but nothing will be different,” Tom tried to comfort her, but his voice wasn’t as convincing as he wished it could be. Hunters were stationed in different parts of the world the moment they turned professional and there was nothing they could do about it. Those that got better as professionals were even harder to find. There was no guarantee that they would see their comrade ever again.

Instead, the man turned his face to look at the mansion, “We should get going. The family is waiting for us,” he said. Rubbing the tears from her face, Marie stood up and turned to the mansion.

“You’re right... Let’s go...” the couple braced themselves, holding hands and making their way for the mansion ahead. They came to the large wooden doors and pushed them open to reveal the group of people on the inside of the mansion.

“And the prodigal duo returns after eighteen years. Long time no see Thomas,” a man lounging on a sofa spoke up, keeping his eyes plastered on the cards in his hands. He wanted nothing to break his concentration and yet, that seemed to be an impossibility in the family he had been born into.

“I see he’s no different,” Tom mentioned.

“Oh, don’t mind him, dear brother. We are happy to have you,” a woman got up from her seat followed by the other two seated in the same game of cards.

“Thank you, Evelyn,” Tom replied as he embraced his sister.

“You’re welcome, little brother. So you weren’t kidding when you said you weren’t going to age one bit,” Evelyn mused, taking in the young look of her brother. He barely looked a day older than the last time she’d seen him.

“So you’re back now, are you? Do we have a hunter or a werewolf?” a voice interrupted.

“Nice to see you too, Lazarus,” Tom smiled at his uncle walking up to the new arrival and hugging him, “Is Thorrin here?”

The room went dead silent at the mention of Thorrin. They all looked uncomfortable at the mention of the man, “Umm, it has been a long time... And for once he actually showed up to a family meeting,” Lazarus said.

“Uncle, it’s not like anything bad has happened to him. He’s the...”

“Most powerful hunter in the world... and also the most paranoid Chase hunter you will ever find. Go easy on him when you see him. So much rides on his shoulders that he doesn’t know how to hold it all,” Uncle Lazarus cut him off. Their uncle was a bulky man and a retired hunter that had trained them growing up. He knew them inside out and if he’d noticed something wrong with the Mighty Warrior in their family, there was definitely something wrong with him.

Signalling to his wife, the two of them ascended the stairs, guided by Thomas’ uncle to meet the last of their family. Thorrin Chase stood at the balcony that was raised highest in the highest part of the mansion overlooking the landscape. The sun was high in the air and the scenery posed no reason for such scrutiny and yet the man continued to stare out at it, “You’ve been gone a long while,” Thorrin’s voice sounded. It was deeper than Tom remembered and held more power than he could fathom.

“I guess we have been gone quite a while. It was a little after our wedding when we got called for a mission to save on the...”

“I know the details, brother,” Thorrin cut him off.

Thomas went quiet and watched his brother closely. Noticing the silence, Uncle Lazarus chose this moment to leave the room. When the man was well out of listening range, Tom walked onto the balcony to take a closer look at his brother. The man before him looked much older than him despite their two year age difference.

Even with the time that Tom had spent unable to age, his brother looked to be ageing faster than he should have, “What’s on your mind, brother?”

Thorrin finally took the time to look at his brother. He looked him up and down, sighed and set his eyes back on the horizon, “I’ve been trying to track him with no success. I think of a lot of things these days. I feel I have the power to bring an end to him but lack the means or the blessing from Prometheus to do it.”

“Well, I do know someone with that exact same dream. The only difference is that she already set her eyes on the Rogue King and lived to tell the tale,” Tom replied.

“I heard that story a while ago. I wanted to hear you confirm it yourself...” he said quietly, “Are you still the same as you left, Tom?”

'

“Yes, I am. Why would I be any different?”

“We didn’t bother to disturb the two of you because you had been chained by the moon goddess to a responsibility that was worth it, but now I can only wonder whether you’re back, but chained by the goddess in a different way,” the man responded.

Thomas drew a short breath at the statement. He had something else in relation to addressing, but now seemed to be the wrong time, having driven the conversation in this direction, “I was thinking of going to Sirius.”

The man tore his gaze from the clouds and looked at his brother with a confused expression, “Whatever for?”

“I don’t know yet, but I know there is trouble brewing there as well. We all know how the foresight of the Chase family works. It’s never clear and yet, it never lets us down,” Tom explained.

“I feel no danger associated in that place. It’s well protected,” Thorrin said to him before his eyes widened in realisation, “Oh, so she’s about to do something stupid again.”

Tom nodded in response to the man’s words, “I’m afraid that’s a possibility.”

“Haven’t you taught her anything? For someone who was raised by the Chase family, she is very disappointing. I would give her a thrashing if I ever got to...”

“She reminds me of you, Thorrin,” Marie stopped him this time.

The man turned and set his eyes on the woman for the first time since they had got into the room. Saying he hadn’t noticed her presence would be a grave error. He seemed to be aware of everything miles and miles within the mansion. However, with his concentration split, he couldn’t do everything that was required of him. Pleasantries were amongst the things he’d taken out of his responsibilities to compensate for the strain he put on himself on a daily basis.

Seeing her face after all these years, however, seemed to release all the tense veins that pulsed in his head. He looked visibly relaxed for the first time since they’d met him on this balcony and he seemed to look younger when he relaxed, “Marie...” was all he could say.